Rise & Resurrection of the American Programmer (Yourdon Press Computing Series) (Hardcover)

~ Edward Yourdon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1992, Yourdon wrote The Decline and Fall of the American Programmer, warning of impending loss of leadership by American software engineers. But a great deal has changed in three years, and Yourdon now sees a complete reversal of many of the trends he previously documented, as well as new trends such as the WWW, Java, "Good Enough" Software, and the enormous impact of Microsoft on the world of software and computing, that together signify the Resurrection of American software engineering.

Product Description

A comprehensive profile of today's software landscape features insightful chapters on such areas as Microsoft, the Internet, the future of embedded systems, and the role of client/server. (All Users)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 318 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR; 1st edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013121831X
• ISBN-13: 978-0131218314
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,789,555 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly Yourdon's best book, November 14, 2000

By	Stephane (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rise & Resurrection of the American Programmer (Yourdon Press Computing Series) (Paperback)

While Yourdon's "Death March" wasn't another "Mythical Man-Month" by any measure, "Rise" is yet in another (much lower) class. Does Yourdon want to become a true industry pundit? Ed, your style is too clear for that; and you're writing in harback format, which doesn't blissfully disappear like all these magazines.

There are many valuable insights: the section on best practices, for example. The good thing is that Yourdon doesn't just talk about them: he lists a few. "User Manual as Specification" is so simple, so obviously good... why have we done anything else ever? "Good-enough software" is valuable as well, not because you're not doing that already, but because the key is making it a fully conscious and accepted process.

And then there are some chapters that I'd rather not talk about; the one about Java, for example. The author obviously got carried away. In hindsight, this is easy to say, but still: it lacked realism, even if Microsoft hadn't tried foiling Sun's plans since day 1.

Overall: read Yourdon's other books, they're worthier of your money. And if you haven't the classics like "MMM" (Brooks), go there first.

21 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Decline and Fall, Version 2.0, December 20, 1999

By	Peter Norvig (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Rise & Resurrection of the American Programmer (Yourdon Press Computing Series) (Paperback)

Yourdon writes a book (Decline and Fall of the American Programmer) predicting doom and gloom, and when he's proved wrong, does he offer a free refund? Or at least apologize? No, he asks his readers to invest more money to learn why the previous book was all wrong. No thanks for me.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The future of computer science seen by a great man, October 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Rise & Resurrection of the American Programmer (Yourdon Press Computing Series) (Paperback)

It gives a lot of guidelines about how to improve projects and human management (American and European point of view), developer behaviors, and so on. I found chapters concerning object technology, analysis and design very realistics, pinpointing advantages, drawbacks, and advice. Very good and clear Java's strategic position overview as programming language, web-based language ( client and server ), and so on. Unfortunately, I expected more details about Inernet technology ( e-commerce, ethic, ...). A very good book to read as a novel.